An exploration of the Andai dance form (from the Horqin area of Inner Mongolia) from a dance/movement therapy perspective.

从舞蹈动作治疗角度探索安代舞蹈（中国内蒙古科尔沁地区）

Andai is a unique folk dance in Horqin of Inner Mongolia in China, and is related to shamanistic fertility worship observed by the Mongolian tribe in Horqin. The original Andai is a complete religious rite which includes such activities as therapy, prayer, singing and dancing. Even today on the Horqin Grassland, there are still widespread traditions of treating diseases both of unmarried women with psychosis and of infertile married women through Shamanic Andai dancing. However, as this time-honored Andai ritual has moved into the twenty-first century, it has already slipped the leash of religious thoughts and has been given new connotations – developing into a form of folk art for a new era and appearing as a significant physical training method for the Horqin people. As a researcher of the art of Mongolian dance, the author of this article has a deep passion for Andai. The jumping and stamping posture, the flying silk and the distance song of Andai are deeply attractive elements. This paper places Andai, which has passed from one generation of Mongolian people to the next, within the vision of modern frontier disciplines, namely Dance Movement Therapy. Through Dance Movement Therapy, Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) theories and methods, this paper also analyzes the forms and functions in Andai ceremony – illustrating not only the artistic features of mysterious religious thought and rich aesthetics of dance, but also highlighting Andai’s scientific and practical applications. Taking this case as an example, this paper aims to explore both the rich heritage and developmental momentum of this ethnic Chinese Folk Dance.